Dauphin island flag color today

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.**
*i want to use this pc as a way to play video games such as apex, valorant, league etc. Really the main point would be for gaming rather than anything else!

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

Maximum budget would be 2.5k USD.

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

Would buy this sometime in the next 2 weeks.

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

I need a full set up. Keyboard. Mouse. Ideally 2 monitors. Desk mat to put keyboard and mouse on! And an entire computer except for a headset.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

I’m in the United States and I can get to a micro center in Virginia.

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

I’ll only be reusing à razer headset for gaming.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

I have no clue so I assume no since I am not an expert at anything with computers.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

Storage enough for a few large games like R6 and others! Good performance and stability for playing FPS games. Would love 2 gaming monitors so I can have multiple screens.

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

I would really love a green and white theme to the entire set up as that would fit the room it’s going in. RGB is fine but i love a clean and simple look!

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

I would need windows? Basically I’m starting entirely from the ground up.

Extra info or particulars

Thank you so much to whoever can help me. I’m excited to build a new pc. Feel free to message me with any questions!!

Tired of mortgaging your house just to make some custom stickers? Want to make your own but don't have a Cricut or other expensive machine? Well, I've been there!
And let me tell you, you don't need to sell your soul to buy a Cricut or worry about print shops stealing your precious designs. Let's get creative and save some cash!
​
If you're a lazy butt like me and don't want to read the whole post, jump straight to the article.
​
When I started, I was flipping around like a breakfast sausage to save a few bucks. Meanwhile, all the artists were making stickers, and I was like, "Why can't I do that without all these fancy machines?" And sure enough, I did it and then wrote an article about the process in my blog.
​
So, today I updated my budget sticker-making guide and suddenly realized: why to keep this knowledge to myself when I could share it with the world? Especially those young art entrepreneurs on Reddit who are just itching to make their mark (or stickers).
Plus, I mean, who doesn't love a good sticker? Am I right, or am I right?
​
So, here's the deal:
Step 1 Gather your sticker-making arsenal. Get your hands on glossy vinyl sticker paper, scissors or a craft knife, a printer, and a pinch of sticker-making enthusiasm!
Step 2: Let your creativity soar! Design your dream stickers using graphic design software or free online tools. Show the world what sticker awesomeness truly looks like. 🌈🦄
Step 3: Bring those designs to life! Print your creations on glossy vinyl sticker paper. Remember to channel your inner perfectionist for those crisp and vibrant stickers that'll make heads turn! 👀
Step 4: Laminate and embrace your scissors skills! Carefully cut out your masterpieces with precision and finesse. 🖌️✂️
Step 5: Stick it, baby! Peel off the backing, and voila!
Your glossy, waterproof sticker is ready to adorn laptops, water bottles, and more. Stick it to the world! 🌟💦
But wait! My article is more than just a tutorial on making stickers. I'll also provide valuable information on the top printable vinyl paper, recommended printers, color gamut, and other budget-helpful tips and tricks.
So check out the full article and prepare to become the sticker-making legend you were always destined to be. Trust me; the sticker universe will never be the same again! 💫🎉

I haven’t caught every show this week, but today they spent 15 minutes talking trash about the staple caller Ira from Staten Island. Still, I wasn’t able to put together how exactly the falling out happened. Can someone catch me up?

So I was recently diagnosed with narcolepsy after four years of debilitating fatigue. I started Xywav last week on 2.25g 2x/night and at first it was great. I was like “woah, this is what I’m supposed to feel like” (WAY more energy than normal) but then as the week went on I had really bad headaches, dizziness, and anxiety/depression. The mental heath symptoms are the ones that are most concerning because exactly a year ago I was in the mental hospital for severe depression and SI. I have done a lot of work on my mental health since then and have made a complete recovery, but now some symptoms are starting to come back with the Xywav. I an torn because this is the first thing that has ever helped my EDS but obviously none of that matters if I am too depressed to live. Has anyone experienced anything like this, and if so, did you find a solution that worked for you? I feel like I have to choose between two different ways to suffer and that just sucks.
Also - I talked to my doctor about all this and she recommended I drop down to 1.25mg 2x/night and I did that last night and I’m experiencing heightened anxiety and depression today.
(Just to note, I’m not in any danger - I have a great support system, therapist, and psychiatrist and I know what to do if my head gets really loud, I am mostly noting this as a red flag because its the first symptoms of my mental illness that I’ve experienced in almost a year and I am worried about it getting worse.)

Coffee with Captain from dGenNetwork Twitter Spaces today featured Doodles CEO Julian Holguin
If anyone wants to listen back: https://twitter.com/i/spaces/1DXxyveZOwbKM
I've shared some of the Doodles related Q&A below:
Can you tell us a little bit about this Camp experience for those who missed the announcement?
Julian: So Camp and Doodles has been underway for a while. It's definitely been a concept that we've been kicking around since I started at the company and the whole idea was that if you can create an immersive retail experience that brings people into your world and kind of draft off of the success that Doodles had at SXSW and make it more permanent, you can really reach people in a meaningful way. It's why people go to Disneyland, Universal Studios etc. It's a big endeavor to launch a theme park. There are massive businesses that are built around actually standing up these theme parks but there's kind of a hole in the market for every weekend, almost everyday activities you can do with a family or with friends that bring consumers and fans and collectors closer to your experience in a way that's truly experiential. So Camp is a business that has been able to stand up a really incredible solution for that.
I actually discovered it with my family while I was living in Los Angeles. I brought my son to their Nike kids camp and I was blown away. You walk in, it's a specialty toy store, it's got all the viral kids toys and it's kind of like a modern day FAO Schwarz, it's really cool. Then they have this ticketed experience where you buy tickets to whatever the branded theme is, that time in L.A, it was Nike. You take the family through this magic door at the back of the store and it opens up into this 6000 square foot, crazy guided immersive experience where there's actors, they call them counselors that take you through this whole experience that's guided for your family and your kids and they're immersed in the world. It's play, it's fun and then at the end of it is this really cool gift shop experience where people can get a chance to take home the stuff that they just interacted with and some of the energy that they were just able to put into play.
Camp has a network of these stores across the country. They also have one in Atlanta, which just debuted with The Little Mermaid, they have one in New York, which debuted with Disney Encanto, they've done Paw Patrol, they have Mickey and Friends live in Dallas, so they have this whole network. We're opening a new store with them this summer that's Doodles. So we're going to be side by side with some of the best and most beloved IP in the world and bringing what so many people love about Doodles to life permanently. The idea is that we're going to be a specific location for around 3 to 6 months potentially a little bit longer and then that show is actually built to pack up and go on the road. So we'll move to a different one of their locations.
We're making a bunch of new products, our first actual kids merchandise. It's going to be integrated into the experience. The experience that you're going to see is brand new, completely built from the ground up. Anybody that's been to our live events know that we know how to do this and we really do know how to bring people into our world and this is another opportunity for us to also age down and reach a new demographic with kids, parents and kind of everybody in between so it's a really exciting time for us. We believe immersive retail is going to be a massive thing in the future. If yesterday's Apple event actually punctuated anything, it's this concept of mixed reality that is going to be prevalent in our life and the whole idea of immersive retail is to continually use digital product, live experiences to bring people closer to stories, to bring people closer to characters, to bring people actually into the universe that we're ultimately creating and we all know being in Web3 how that is core to the ethos, that's why all of us signed up. We want to feel like we're part of this, so we're really excited. Can't wait for everybody to see more.
Why is Camp the ideal partner versus doing this yourselves?
Julian: I think we do IRL as good as anybody in the world, not just anybody in Web3. I think the elevation that Doodles brought to the space when it comes to IRL after SXSW was a call to action to everybody in the space to kind of level up and you've seen a lot of people, based on what we did start to invest more in these live experiences and try and bring people closer to the actual IP. I think we've been leaders in that regard and we have no doubt that we would have been able to build a really special live experience if we had just done it from the ground up but it made a lot more sense knowing that this is not our core competency to actually partner with somebody to help operate a fully baked retail location. As much as camp is a business that we're completely leaning into, it's also a test for product market fit, one thing that they have is email subscriber lists, customers, real fans of their brand that seek out these kinds of experiences in the cities that they're in so there's already built in marketing value that we have by partnering with Camp, the infrastructure, they know how to operate a store from day to day.
They know the right amount of inventory to order, they know the right way to actually have these experiences flow when it comes to a three hour guided experience and they know how to get the most value for their customers and ultimately out of their customers. So it was a really good idea for us to actually partner with somebody before going all in and investing 100% of our own money into an experience like this and we truly think partnership is the way to learn as much as you possibly can and it's also not that different from the way that massive IP shows up at theme parks and such, there are theme park operators like Merlin Entertainment and what they do is license IP and then ultimately build theme parks around them. So there are very few people that actually stand up their own theme park businesses and actually bring their own live experiences to market. I do think it's something that we could probably own one day but the best idea short term was to do it with somebody that's a true expert in it and kind of shares a similar ethos that we do.
How do you plan to drive people to the Doodles experience vs something like Mickey that's also in Camp stores?
That's exactly why it made so much sense to actually partner with Camp because they have a built in audience and customer base. Right off the bat we're going to have thousands of people that are going to become aware of Doodles instantly just because we're partnering with Camp and going to have a location activated in a particular city. So that's number one. Number two is that that's not going to be enough, we want to try and actually integrate within that city and and the surrounding markets. So what we're going to be doing is a full fledged marketing campaign. We're going to be sponsoring local events, we're going to be working with local influencers, people that have kids, people that don't, we're going to be doing outdoor, we're going to be doing radio, we're going to be getting the message out there about Doodles, but not just about Doodles. The fact that there is this new incredible experience that's coming to market. New York, LA, Miami, Austin, Columbus, Ohio, a lot of these places have a lot of major entertainment things that come by but there's very few things that fill this gap. You can go to Six Flags, Disneyland, you can go to a tour that's coming through town like I take my kid to the Jurassic World tour and it's really cool but there's not many things that are IP driven that you can go to any weekend.
You can knock out three hours with your family, there's just a really big hole in that market in almost every single city. The fact the experience is going to be coming to the city that we're going to is a marketing opportunity within itself. So Doodles is going to draft off of that solution that this experience is actually providing to the market and I think everybody knows this that's been to our events, once you're in, once you experience it, you have a really big opportunity with a brand like Doodles to keep people interested in your ecosystem, to keep people interested in what you're doing. The other thing you kind of mentioned about our events where you see strollers and families around during the day and then at night it's a Diplo concert, we're going to be doing a similar kind of thing with daypart programing where there's going to be basically daytime programing for kids and families and then at night, not every single night but at night there's going to be more adult focused programing where the setting and the scene is a lot more for people that are over 21 and not really in that family kind of setting. So it's going to be pretty cool to see our ability to actually target multiple demographics and try and be a multi-generational brand.
You have mentioned that Doodles is like the Amex black card of the collection. How does that work related to the Doodles Camp experience?
Julian: We've been maintaining this. So essentially the Doodles OG collection, obviously there's provenance associated with it, it's the art that started it all, it's one of 10,000 Burnt Toast but it also comes with this contract that's going to give you the ultimate access in the entire ecosystem. Sometimes access means you're going to get entered for a raffle to be one of the only 300 people that get the Pharrell pack for free. Sometimes it's going to be access to a major live event that we're propping up at a big cultural moment and sometimes it's going to be something like Camp where you are going to get free entry, you are going to get merchandise credits, you are going to get concierge services, meaning when you show up, it's not going to be like somebody walking off the street, the store is going to be waiting for you, you're going to be treated like a true VIP because that's what people that hold the original collection are and we think that's a pretty special thing. We think people strive for that. We think people want to feel special, especially when they're investing money in collectibles and the things that we offer in our ecosystem so if you're traveling to come to this specific location, we want that experience to feel very special to you.
We don't want you to feel like just any normal consumer off the street. You're part of the Doodles universe, the same way that the characters that are being displayed in that experience are. So it's really special to us and really important to us that we live up to that in that our community. The people that are truly in the community every single day, engaging, building. There's a fictional universe of characters and then there's the real world lifestyle of Doodles, the real world lifestyle of Doodles we want to be as known and as much of a part of our story as the actual fictional universe and that's what we're trying to perpetuate with this idea of like white glove concierge service. I always think of it like concierge key with American Airlines or the Black Card with American Express or Club 33 with Disney, it doesn't mean every single thing that we do is going to be free but it means there's going to be a very, very special experience for OGs at every step of the way and this is just another iteration of that.
When you gave the presentation at NFTNYC about a year ago, you talked about immersive experiences, culture, music, is there anything that has changed or pivoted in strategy since that presentation?
Julian: I think a business like us you need to give yourselves agency to pivot as things unfold and as technology develops and I'd say that our vision has not changed at all but the way we get there maybe there are a couple changes but they wouldn't be noticeable to somebody looking from the outside in. I think the way that we think about on-chain loyalty, rewards and engagement and a hub like the stoodio being connected to every single consumer touchpoint, we've always had a vision for that because there's countless examples of major IP in the world that has fans and really loyal supporters that go out and see them at the movies, theme parks, buy merch, play games and the IP actually has no way of tracking all of that behavior. They have no idea who these people are, much less how to reward them for their support and for their loyalty. If you build from the ground up with that mindset, you're going to be able to create a much deeper relationship between you and your most loyal supporters, which is kind of what Web3 is about. So how do we create a brand that can do what any of these major IP operators do with an audience of millions, but we're doing it with thousands and then you build that traditional business model on top of it to create something truly exponential.
That is the vision, that's the game. I think the thing that most people don't understand is that brands today, it's not like you can just go build one tentpole and build a global IP off of that. If you're Disney you can, you can release Encanto, be working on it for five years and have all the distribution to make that a hit but it doesn't work that way for most people trying to build an IP. Most brands need to be present every day where consumers spend their time on social media, in live events, through merchandise, people spend their time in very fragmented ways these days, and attention is very difficult to maintain. So this whole concept of transmedia storytelling is really important and if you think about what GoldenWolf is, they're an animation and creative studio that specializes in advertising content, on digital content, on social content. So knowing that we are going to be a transmedia storytelling brand, meaning we're going to be present in many different areas and we're going to be creating content around all of the things that we do, whether it be Camp, brand partnerships that we have coming up, Doodles Records, anything with the product and the stoodio, new NFT collections etc. What could be a better asset internally than an Emmy nominated advertising and animation studio? We're going to be able to put high quality content out in a way that other people truly just can't keep up with.
I don't mean content for the sake of content. I truly mean high quality content. So GoldenWolf being in the mix is huge for us. Ingi is an incredible thought leader, always thinking about new ways to push technology forward. For us blockchain is obviously what made Doodles what it is and it's obviously what is most interesting to us and how digital ownership brings people closer to an IP but how can you use some other emerging technologies to actually create quicker time to market for animation so you can create more animations? How do you use it to create more immersive environments? Really thinking about new ways to push the envelope and at the end of the day, people connect with stories, people connect with characters, people love joyful entertainment and if we can make those people feel like they're part of our universe the same way that our main characters are, that's when you get something that I don't think truly exists in the world today and it's something we're really excited about so I'd say not a ton has changed, how we get there and the mechanism in which we deliver these incredible stories and bring people closer will always change. That's just kind of the nature of being in the world that we're in but I'd say we have as much or more conviction than when I started.
Did Apple's Vision Pro announcement yesterday strengthen your belief in the future of experiential and immersive experiences
Julian: Yeah. Everybody knows Burnt Toast for creating the characters but he's actually a really incredible product and thought leader in how to leverage technology to create more content. He's been beating this drum for a long time. Mixed reality. He really loves augmented reality specifically and I think what you saw last night was a major step in how this is ultimately going to evolve. That headset is going to get smaller and smaller. The computing power is going to get stronger and stronger. The price is going to get cheaper and cheaper. The technology is going to get more intuitive and anybody that's not thinking about that future is definitely going to get left behind. How long it takes to get to a point where that use case is truly at scale? Who knows? I think it happens faster these days than it ever has before. I think it's actually a really exciting time if you're a creator, especially if you're a creator in a world where you're trying to connect physical and digital. We couldn't be more bullish and we couldn't be more excited for the kind of things that we're actually going to be able to make with a truly great platform like that.
I think the metaverse is a term, it's not what's actually being created. It's thrown around so much and people talk about the metaverse like it's someplace we're going and not someplace that we kind of live in today. Everybody very carefully curates what they put on social media, younger generations care so much about the digital assets that they can acquire like Roblox and Fortnite, people care about what their Zoom looks like, everybody on this Twitter space has very carefully curated what their PFP looks like and what their Twitter feed looks like. We are very much living in a world that has bridges from digital and IRL and what the announcement was yesterday and what Disney is doing is just talking about a much more intuitive and deeper way to make that a reality and to create better experiences. If you looked at the visuals, imagine throwing on a headset and being able to watch a Disney movie like that or to watch a game on ESPN. I don't even think people can really feel the impact of how that's going to be. It's going to be incredible. It's going to be an entertainment experience that just does not exist today and until people can actually feel it, I think there's going to be a lot of speculation, but that showed a lot of promise, we were all pretty blown away watching that presentation.
I love that you've mentioned a couple times the prioritization of content and good content, is Doodles active on platforms outside of twitter or is that coming?
Julian: It's coming up. We are mostly active on Instagram and Twitter. We needed to actually get the GoldenWolf acquisition through and then ultimately integrate the company and the business into Doodles so that naturally just takes some time and what we didn't want to do was just rush to get content out there because it's something that you feel like you have to do. Quality takes time. A brand that's going to live forever and and be timeless takes time. It's not like technology where if you're first and you're quick, you get a leg up. People are always starving for new IP. People are always looking for new stories. People are always looking for new ways to actually connect and feel joy and escape and what we can't do is rush to put something out that doesn't truly mirror or represent the Doodles brand and the bar for quality that we have. Obviously we're going to have a TikTok channel, we're going to have more YouTube content. It's just taking a little bit of time as these things should. I don't want to give you like an exact date of when that stuff is going to happen, but it's all being developed as we speak in addition to the long form, whether that be television or film and then what are the characters names? What are the stories? What adventures do they go on? What is the universe like? You're going to start to see tidbits of that throughout the summer and into the end of the year.
I wasn't even thinking long form. Is that alpha?
Julian: You've definitely heard that before. Of course if your any major IP, you want to figure out a way to exploit that IP in new ways and film, television, longer form takes a longer time and it's something that we don't really feel the need to rush into because it's not like we have everything riding on Doodles being like a smash TV show or a major hit movie at the box office. If you think about the way brands operate today, evergreen social content, narrative storytelling, different kinds of physical and digital experiences, merchandise, true connection to your audience and your community every single day. That's what Doodles is really going to prioritize and in parallel to that, yes, how do we actually get like a bigger tentpole to market?
I think you were hinting to building out the lore of the collection, are there plans to roll out content around exactly what it is to be a holder of these collections?
Julian: That's a great question. I'd say that first and foremost, all the fictional universe and lore for what Doodles is building is going to emanate from our collections. So the characters are going to emanate from the original collection. Some of the fashion inspiration in our universe is going to emanate from Doodles2, it's going to be very clear to anybody that's been around for a while or anybody that knows Doodles that the world that's being built is being built around the NFT's and the community is going to have several ways to take part in that and then as far as actually marketing what it means to be an OG holder, there's going to be a ton of content. There already has been a lot of content if you look our marketing pages and some of the tweet threads, some of the animations that we've made to kind of take people through whatever experience we're promoting at the time but when it does come to the actual membership itself, that's something that we're going to continue to prioritize. There's going to be a lot of content made around that and it's something that we talk about internally every day.
If you look at another collection, DeGods. They seem to really be leaning into these seasons. What I mean by that is the content they create, they sort of build up to the utility for months
Julian: That's not entirely our strategy to speculate on what utility may or may not be, I would just say that what we found works for us is kind of just showing people, iterating and testing and we think that's a really good long term strategy for us, especially because we're in a position where we're able to do a lot right now because of the capital that we raised last year. I think the utility is going to get very clear and the ecosystem is going to become very clear soon. I think people are already starting to feel it with the launch of the stoodio, the Pharrell Pack, Pharrell himself becoming a Doodle in our universe, Camp and some of the other partnerships that we're getting ready to announce that are going to happen this summer and into the end of the year so I'd say that we want people to feel like more is coming, but we also don't want to over promise and have people have outsized expectations because I think a lot of projects fall victim to that.
We're also fans of what a lot of other people are doing and we study what other people are doing to try and take bits of that and see how they could fit our business. I think the thing that's really exciting about Web3 right now is that not everyone is doing things the same way. Specifically in the PFP collections, everybody is kind of establishing their own lane and doing really incredible work across the space and I'd say that should be an exciting thing because what works for one project won't necessarily work for the next. It's pretty cool that we're all collections, we're all NFT's, we're all Web3 but at the end of the day, the track that we're taking and the businesses that we're creating are actually really different. So I'd say that we look at these things, it's just figuring out when and why to implement them or activate them but I think mainly what you're saying is, how can you make sure that the utility isn't really going under the radar and it's something that we're championing as much as the big brand moments and that's something that is 100% a priority for us and making sure that the community feels and understands what it means to be a holder.
I love that these projects are taking different paths and while I think others will follow, I do think it's going to take a big brand like Doodles kind of chart that blueprint in a sense.
Julian: Yeah and others others have followed. When Jordan, Evan and Scott started the company, they were very clear that this was an IP that they were going to develop over time and making sure that the community was part of that IP. SXSW was kind of a statement that Doodles made. NFTNYC was a statement that Doodles made and you've seen a lot of projects actually try and do what we are doing. Everybody knows Doodles may not have been the best at talking about what we're doing but at the end of the day, I think no one's going to be able to deny that there's a really thriving ecosystem, company and community being built around this IP come the next few months when all that's about to release is going to release. It's a very exciting time to be a Doodle holder. I feel like Doodle holders are going to be very proud to represent the brand and be ambassadors for the brand and I think we're really proud that the community that has stuck around and truly engaged with us this entire way is going to feel very good about where we're going. It's an exciting time for Web3. I think you're going to see a lot of really interesting work. I've always said that last year was kind of the year of shipping promises and this year going into next year is really going to be the year that you actually start seeing all of us ship product and you're starting to see some really incredible work unfold and we're just happy that we still have a chance to do that.
Can we expect any other in real life activations whether it be Art Basel or otherwise this year or is it all focus on Camp?
Julian: Camp is going to be the main focus from an investment perspective, meaning most of what we have for live is going towards Camp and building that out as a true business, with that being said we love popping up at other IRL moments because it's a way to onboard new people into our ecosystem and also reward key community members. What we did at Something In The Water was we basically set up this 30 by 30 space. We called it Doodle Beach. There was a merch shop that promoted our collaboration with BBC Ice Cream and then there was another space where you could actually test out the Doodles2 product experience on screen and go into the stoodio, mess around a little bit, learn more about Doodles and what it is. We were able to onboard a lot of festival goers that really didn't know anything about the brand beforehand but we were able to break off 50 super VIP tickets with incredible access to the stage and raffle those off for Doodles community members. We're going to be doing that again at other moments this year. Exactly which ones, we're not prepared to say yet but that will always be a focus for us. What we wanted to do was create an activation that could be easily packed up and travel so we could take a similar thing from event to event versus trying to go completely all in on a SXSW or Art Basel, not to say that's not going to be something we do in the future, we're just trying to scale our live event footprint and our activity a little bit more.
Was there ever a discussion about creating permanent Doodle-branded locations, inspired by the success of Doodleputt, such as Doodles laser tag or Doodles go kart racing?
Julian: I think the thing that we wanted to kind of steer clear of is having any association for Doodles that was not specifically about Doodles, the characters and the stories. If the first time people are experiencing Doodles is through golf or laser tag or bowling you kind of run the risk of people thinking that's what it is. If you think about Mario, the characters, the stories, people were very familiar with what those were before Mario Kart or Mario Golf or Mario Tennis ever came out, I do think there's an opportunity for that in the future. I think people loved Doodleputt, but I think the strategy there was really more about how do you create something splashy and noteworthy at Art Basel that people were truly going to care about doing that was very social but we believe that Camp and the experience that we're creating there is a much better format for where we're going but the idea of Doodles popping up with other sorts of immersive experiences is definitely interesting and something we are actively working on what it looks like to bring other experiences to different markets around the world and it's going to continue to be a core strategy of ours. We're going to learn a lot with with what we do at Camp and we're going to use that data to continue to build out the ecosystem.
Have you considered creating a weekly series on platforms like YouTube, where kids can tune in to watch and engage with the brand on a regular basis, even though you mentioned that you're not pursuing a Doodles movie or animation?
Julian: To clarify, a movie, doodles animation, that's actually something we're actively working on. It's just there's no rush to get that out there. When it comes to YouTube, I'm a parent that utilized Cocomelon and Paw Patrol and all these different things on YouTube. So I totally get it. I think there is going to be YouTube content very soon, but there's also going to be TikTok and more Instagram content and there's just going to be a stronger throughline for what we're creating and why, you're going to start to see the story and some of the characters unfold. Not all at once. I'd say that the minute to two minute long videos is something that translates more of like a webcomic, animated series, physical book or social content? All of these things are are being developed right now. So I'd say what you're hoping for is exactly the work that GoldenWolf is doing. Whatever format it comes in I'm not going to guarantee on the spaces today but you can just rest assured knowing that this is 100% top of mind and as big of a priority as anything in the company, probably the biggest priority in the company.
You were referencing OG holders, are these benefits for those that held for a while or just a Doodle holder in general?
Julian: We do believe that if you own an original Doodle, you're entitled to the kind of the standard benefits that we're building around membership in owning that Doodle but we also are working through ways to make sure people that have stuck around and engaged are rewarded. If you look at the Pharrell pack, the criteria to actually enter the raffle, you had to have had an OG Doodle, you had to have dooplicated a Doodle, opened a Genesis Box and you had to have signed up for an account with the stoodio. If you did not have an OG Doodle, you were not eligible for that raffle but if you didn't do all the other things that kind of engaged members of the community do, you also couldn't be part of that raffle. So I think you're going to start to see things where all Doodles holders get an opportunity for something. Only Doodles holders that have taken certain actions are going to get an opportunity for something and kind of everything in between.
How do you plan to onboard individuals from the immersive camp experience into the Web3 space?
Julian: I'd say that's exactly what we're building and our vision. How do you build a on-chain collectible ecosystem that connects to every single consumer touchpoint? We kind of look at Doodles as a funnel where most people are going to come into contact with us through engaging with content on social media, showing up at experiences like Camp, seeing Adidas or Pharrell post about Doodles etc All of a sudden those people are aware of Doodles and we have an NFT product in the stoodio that feels a lot more like skinning a character in Fortnite or buying something in Roblox where you're basically outfitting your avatar in whatever activation you saw. So like Adidas, Pharrell, you can now buy the stuff that they were representing, build your doodle in that likeness. There's no friction to get in, signing up for a wallet and getting into the stoodio is as easy as setting up an Instagram or Spotify account. It's not even just about it being easy, it's familiar. Getting a metamask, holding a seed phrase, buying crypto, that stuff is not familiar and it scares most people.
We know the technology is ultimately going to get better but in the meantime we want a meaningful way to actually onboard people into this hub that we've built in the stoodio. So if you can create media, experiences, attention you can actually bring them in to your hub, to your collectible ecosystem through a really easy to use product. A product they care about that helps them represent themselves, they get to be a Doodle the same way that our main characters are going to get to be a Doodle. Now they're in, they're going to learn more about blockchain, they're going to learn more about Web3 but they were able to get out of their own way because the technology was invisible. They weren't scared of NFT's and crypto the first time they integrated with Doodles because they had no idea that's what it was. That's a really interesting opportunity because right now for a lot of people it's kind of the boogeyman and if you can help people understand it isn't about the headlines that you read, it's about a better technology stack to create a more meaningful relationship between supporters, collectors, community and the IP itself.
None of the rest is going to matter to those people. Our goal is ultimately to have the entire collectible ecosystem connect to everywhere that people are experiencing the brand. You're going to see that with Camp. You've seen that at all of our live events, if you were a Doodle holder at Art Basel, at Doodleputt, you were able to flash your badge at different activation pillars and it would make a noise and you would get access to different shots, a door would open up and you could actually hit it through the secret passageway and give you an edge over somebody that didn't have a Doodle, you were able to display your Doodle in certain areas in the actual experience itself. So we kind of look at it like it's in real life, it's digital, everything's connected. That is what we're building right now and we really want to make sure that you're giving people as little friction as possible that don't know much about us or the space as a whole.
Beyond GoldenWolf is Doodles looking at other acquisitions in the space?
Julian: We're always looking at acquisitions. There's always an opportunity to bring companies in that are either struggling or thriving but by bringing them together, you create an exponential effect. Any time we look at an acquisition, it's always how can we create one plus one equals three.. GoldenWolf is not just about ingesting a really great creative team. It's how can we reinvent their company to create a much better version of GoldenWolf while at the same time creating a new world for the development of Doodles IP. So I'd say that to the extent that any Web3 IP, any underlying infrastructure is interesting, we're definitely all in on on those ideas. We brought in all the engineering and product resources from a from another Web3 company that was struggling earlier this year. It wasn't publicized or anything but it's always something that we're vetting and looking at. I'd also say joint ventures and partnerships, we want to be vertically integrated and own the relationship with our community as much as we possibly can but that's not to say that we're going to be experts in every single area we want to operate in so partnership and joint ventures and trying to scale businesses together is always something that's top of mind for us so yes, absolutely. We're always looking at that.
What does Doodles look like in two years?
Julian: I think in the context of Doodles. Doodles is a lifestyle brand that people engage with and are a part of every day. People use it as their PFP, people buy the merch, they communicate with each other, you actually build more content off of the IP, people are starting businesses based off of the IP. Doodles is very real and present in our everyday life and the idea that there are community members where as the brand scales, those people, their interests in the company or the brand scale as well. You're running that parallel to a fictional universe of characters, who is our Buzz Lightyear? Who is our Woody? The fact that there are community members that will be known in the community and the story of those community members just as much as who our main characters are I think is really special because then you could take a fictional universe and a lifestyle brand and have them crash into each other at times.
If you look at the end card for the last trailer we did promoting the Pharrell Pack and Stoodio, it was really cool to see because you saw Pharrell as a Doodle. He's a real person in the real world, but he is now a character in the Doodles universe the same way Lady Gaga and The Weeknd have done things like that with The Simpsons. They're real people but they're in this fictional universe. You saw our main character, the mascot and you also saw a bunch of characters that you might not know, it could be someone from North Dakota or Hong Kong or Tokyo or Miami and the whole point is that they're living in this same universe together. When I think about IP developed from the ground up in Web3, especially when it comes to what Doodles is doing, that concept of digital identity delivered through a brand and the community being as much a part of our universe as the fictional characters that are ultimately going to scale to millions. That is what I think is really interesting about what we're building here and that's why I think the the notion of building a business with your core people is so special and something that doesn't really exist in in the world of IP today.
Can crossovers between real-life and digital formats create a compelling and unique experience?
Julian: If you think about your relationship with Mickey Mouse, you watch the shows, maybe you go to the movies. I don't think he's really at the box office anymore but you buy the t-shirt, maybe there's some games, you go to Disneyland. It's really great but there are going to be people in our community that are like Mickey Mouse, right? Like people.
Look at Doodlien, the holographic alien. He minted it. He's turned down massive offers. He is one of the biggest champions of the brand and if you're in Doodles, you know who Doodlien is. That's all part of the of the story of Doodles. People aren't just falling in love with the characters and the stories. They're also falling in love with the process and how it all came together because they feel truly invested in it. That's really special and and I think that's going to be the thing that really, really separates Web3 from a lot of the other IP out there.
I think the main thing I'll sign off with is, Doodles is doing exactly what we said we would be doing at NFTNYC last year. It takes a while to build businesses that truly matter and to build brands and characters and stories that truly matter and then to bring a community closer to that entire experience. I think people are going to be really proud to see what's coming next but very excited to see all the positive reaction and engagement we've had on the timeline recently so appreciate the time today, guys, and we'll talk again soon.

Hey, I've recently got into DnD since the start of December [M20]. So far I've had 6 DMs so I've learned to tell apart the good from the bad somewhat.
I don't know much Reddit stuff and I'm not exactly good at TLTRs so bear with me. I've also decided to tell this story on an alt to avoid harassment towards my end or the DM's.
So where do we begin? It all started when my last DM decided to drop the campaign after many people left it and even tho I've found the start of it pretty slow it got pretty fun when we crossed a certain point. So I wanted to get back into a new game to fill in a new slot.
I found a post in lfg where the OP(our soon-to-be new DM) welcomes everyone into his discord server). In hindsight, it was a red flag that anyone could join in with no questions asked. Desperate as I am to get into a running 5e campaign that fits in with my schedule, I joined in.
After a few days and some asking, we've come to find out that out of like 10 server members in here only 4 of us were going to play(later it would be bumped up to 5). We were playing Curse of Strahd and I could already tell the DM was a lot less experienced than most of the DMs I've played with. He didn't have much planned out and I had to ask him to make a r20 link before our first session. I did my best with my limited knowledge of r20 to teach him to assign me a character sheet and fortunately, I got my character done before the deadline.
Even tho he's obviously inexperienced as DM I can't really give him much credit with preparation when my first DM happened to be a first-timer at the time and did a much better job of handling stuff.
Anyways, it was the first session and about 4 of us party members were ready. DM told us to be level 3 and we eventually figured out why after a few combat encounters.
DM seems to be playing it by the books as I catch him accidentally reading out stuff that we aren't supposed to know lol. We were railroaded throughout the adventure as well.
My character, a former servant who recently began impersonating a missing nobleman, was a muit-class rogue-fighter and I've played him as a guy who will usually bullshit his way out of any situation with his words.
There was a wizard, another multi-class, and a pure rogue I'm the party. However, the rogue and I were the most talkative out of the party. The thing to note with the rogue is that his race happens to be changeling so he would use his shape-shifting whenever he needs it.
Back to the story, the DM openly reads out a couple of G slurs from the module. As someone who is very uncomfortable with anyone saying and also trying to give the DM the best chance in the first session, I've asked if this was just him reading the module and not something he added on his own. After explaining to him that it's a slur for the Romanian people he kinda brushes it off.
If my problems ended with that whole scene I honestly probably wouldn't have made this post.
Anyways, after the party introduction we were sold pastries from some old lady (this will be important later). I rolled my first insight check on her and rolled terribly(this is also going to be a trend going on). So I bought the pastry. Rogue still seems to be suspicious of her even tho he also bought it.
We went off to wherever we went. I won't tell you exactly everything just the highlights.
After being tricked by some ghost children. We enter this haunted house. This is where I realize that the DM is just telling us everything from the book as it was redundant to investigate or do insight on whatever.
After some spooky stuff happened we found a stairway down to the basement. We found what the DM tells us is a mannequin replica of Strahd so our Rogue went ahead and changed into him and thank God for that. He scared away any cultists around while we proceed to convince these awful parents to no-life themselves after we found out what they did to their own kids.
This was honestly the best part of the campaign as I felt like we actually had some agency and even managed to avoid combat by using the situation to our advantage.
Still, we had to fight one monster in that creepy basement.
There's nothing really important I can mention after this point but I do remember a lot of party members and NPCs vampire-checking each other with mirrors. We agreed to help this one woman with something and that's around when session 1 ended.
Session 2 I woke up a little late, so I rushed to my computer for this.
After a couple of rail roady moments and telling us everything about every single NPC, the DM had us fight some wolves. We killed all but the big wolf who was later revealed to be a werewolf.
This one random woman showed up and specifically charmed me before I could do an insight check. Apparently, my 19 failed the check. This didn't really affect anything other than RP where I start to notice that my character keeps failing his insight and wisdom checks that I had to play him like a naive dork.
We later found a child muttering something important so the rogue and I tag-team persuade him into spilling out the information.
Out of character, I knew the pastries had to be something fucked up but I had to check with the DM if I failed my insight on the old lady and I found out that my character trusted her words. So I just gave it to this kid and I guess it worked cause he told us everything.
In hindsight, I felt like the DM was working really hard to avoid us having dice rolls with these persuasion checks even tho we all roll horribly on insight anyways.
Anything that can be turned into dice rolls that are RP-like the DM will bullshit his way out of. He could be rolling in private but he certainly didn't want to try rolling cause he'll ignore us whenever we suggest anything that isn't combat.
Anyways we were given a bunch of things to look out for. We met a guy and his monkey with a doll that looked like the very woman we were helping. Somehow we got him to talk but we left to go look for wine.
At some point, we return to the guy with the monkey. He muttered "Curse of Strahd" and we all heard it. So we pressed him on and tried to do everything in our abilities to get him to talk. Rogue tries to charm the man. I stole his journal. Someone else I believe started threatening him. At one point I lied to the man and 'promised' that I would give him some treasures using my fake nobility.
Before the DM considers any of our ideas or does anything with them he just has the guy memory wipe everyone. I forgot what spell it was but we all failed our saving rolls. I still wonder what was the point of that whole thing only to have the NPC make our characters forget everything with no warning.
We left, unaware of why we were in this guy's room. We went off and found this old place. There we found the same old lady from the other day as well as her friends. Rogue sneaks up to find children kidnapped in this place.
One other party member was chatting with these old ladies and we both realize that they were cooking children. Out of character, I knew they were too high-level to fight so I figure it would be best to threaten these hags with my nobility.
I lied about having soldiers coming through as backup and that they should surrender. With no hesitation, the DM sandbags my attempt at intimidation and have one of them blast me to an unconscious state.
Meanwhile, the rogue convinced all the kids with a nat 20 to climb down a rope to safety and head towards the one adult waiting outside. He rushed in with his child disguise and got locked in place by one of the hags.
A God of whatever-his-name-is shows up in my dream to grant me power. I asked for the catch and he said there was none. So I took it and went back up to one HP.
The hags were stunned by the fact I just got back up and I proceeded to threaten them by stating that my nobility granted me special permissions to have access to greater powers. Again, no dice rolls or anything. The DM just has one of them cast sleep on me.
This all happened with no turn order or initiative. Now at this point, this should've been a TPK and I really wanted it to be so that I can be done with the session. But no the hags humiliated us and none of the children managed to escape.
They left us with more pastry and I was about done with this game. I lost all of my motivation to roleplay or even try anything new and I certainly know smacking shit with a weapon isn't going to be the best option in these scenarios.
I muted myself and left an hour after when we agreed on leaving after another fight.
I know this isn't exactly the worst story out there in this subreddit but this was pretty bad in my experience. I'll talk to my DM pretty soon about leaving as this session just happened today.
TLD/ DM welcomes everyone into the game only to end up with 4-5 party members. DM railroads the entire party and reads out everything in the book. Openly denies us trying any non-combat solutions with a few exceptions. Lasted 2 sessions before I started thinking about leaving.
Thank you for reading.

I have to give some back story so that where I am today makes sense to everyone, so this might be a little long.
​
So my fiancé has been friends with this girl (we'll call her B) for over 10 years as she's the sister of one of his old, good friends and they all used to hang out. When my fiancé and I first got together, she would go over to his place occasionally and with me not knowing her, it made me somewhat uncomfortable that they would be hanging out alone. From what he told me (and what I later experienced myself) she would just come over and vent about her relationship problems while he just sat and watched TV and listened.
When I eventually moved in with my fiancé, I made it known that I didn't really like the idea of them hanging out alone especially with me not around and me not knowing her, so if she were to reach out to him and ask to hang out/come over, that he would check if I would be around at that same time so the three of us could hang out and I could get to know her as well. So he respected that and moving forward he communicated to B that he wanted to see if I would be around as well if she wanted to come over.
The first time I met her and she came over to hangout, low and behold she just ran her mouth about her ex (we'll call him Jay) and how he treated her terribly. It was the only thing she ever wanted to talk about and this conversation always came up when she'd come over. It obviously became exhausting. Nevertheless, we got a long and became, I suppose, more of acquaintances rather than official friends really, but I had no problems with her after getting to know her, to an extent. She did mention to me one time while we were out that some of the girls' husbands in our friend group had texted her in the past seemingly wanting to meet up/hook up and she seemed pretty boastful about that. That was a bit of a red flag to me as I was just starting to get to know the wives/husbands in the friend group (friend group consists of all the friends my fiancé essentially grew up with).
A month or so later, B ends up getting back with Jay and both my fiancé and I we're quite dumbfounded.
My fiancé and I are avid brewery goers and us and our very large friend group would always frequent the same brewery that we were regulars at. One day my fiancé got a text from B saying her and Jay were going to go to the brewery and if we would hang out with them. I personally told my fiancé that after all the time she invested in complaining about Jay and telling us how he treated her, that I just wasn't interested in hanging out with both of them like that right away and my fiancé felt the same way, so my fiancé texted her (in a nice way) exactly that to be honest with her and that we would sit this one out for the moment. After that we didn't really hear from B as she was spending all of her time with Jay.
A few months later I had noticed that B completely blocked me on all social media. I thought it was extremely odd as I couldn't figure out why. I brought it up to my fiancé and she was still friends with him on everything, so that made it even more confusing. About a year later I was out at another brewery with my fiancé and a couple other friends and we ran into her. Both her and I had gone outside at one point to somewhat catch up, but I also found that as an opportunity to inquire as to why she ended up blocking me on everything. From what she told me, she said that the reason was because that she assumed that I had told my fiancé not to hang out with her anymore and that I was the reason that we didn't meet up with them that night she asked us to hang out with her and Jay at the brewery. I had to clarify that my fiancé is a grown man and makes his own decisions and his own opinions on things and that I in no way contributed in how he felt personally or how he responded to her that night, but we ultimately both felt the same way about it. Regardless, I was pretty irritated by her explanation on this as I felt it was really immature on her part to go about it the way that she did instead of just coming to me and talking about it. I'm not really the type to deal with people like that and typically have no problem just cutting people off, so that kind of set the tone on how I felt about her moving forward and I just really wasn't interested in making an effort in regards to a friendship at that point. Both my fiancé and I never talk to her anymore anyway so it wasn't like it was a loss for me.
My fiancé fully knows how I feel about her and that I just have zero interest in her all together. Well, he ran into her recently and he brought up the wedding and decided to verbally invite her. He came home and told me and I clearly wasn't happy about it. It didn't cause any argument or anything, but I made it clear that I wasn't stoked that he did that without talking to me about it first, because initially she wasn't on the guest list spreadsheet that we both have access to and well, he knows that I flat out just don't care for her. We're also doing a no kids wedding and apparently she was pressing him about bringing her son.
Fast forward to Saturday, we were all at the brewery (yes, we love the brewery's out where we live) with the friend group and at this point in time, I'm best friends with all the wives now, some are even my bridesmaids. We were on the topic of our guest list for the wedding and I had brought up how all of a sudden I had noticed on Friday when I was adding addresses to the guest list that B's name was on there (I didn't add it obviously). That's when everyone just looked at me and said "no" and that's when I found out no one likes B because she's just super immature and very "pick me". I had a convo with one of the wives (we'll call her Jessica) about how I really don't want her there, but it's not just my wedding, it's my fiancé's too, so I feel like I need to compromise, but Jessica flat out said "no, you tell him no, and if I have to, I'll tell him he can't invite her because it makes you uncomfortable and the last thing he should want is for you to be uncomfortable on the biggest day of your lives and boundaries need to be set, it's as simple as that".
So now I feel like I'm stuck in a pickle with this whole thing. Is Jessica right? or should I find compromise on inviting her although I would have no interest in talking to her the entire day of the wedding?
What do you guys think? Has this happened to you before?

South shore here and just marveling at it all!

General Corruptness --Pandora Papers, Panama papers, Paradise papers, Bahamas leaks, Mauritius Leaks, Swiss leaks. FinCEN files --Vietnam ‘war’ --Weapon dealing (OP. fast and furious) --Operation paperclip --CIA torture --Drug trafficking --Blackwater, Erik prince
Control --Central banking, IMF, World Bank, Rothschilds --Bilderberg, Bohemian grove --FEMA --Redlining (poverty is manufactured) --Fluoride --US involvement in regime change (coups) --Electoral College --OP. Minaret, CHAOS
Rights Violations --NSA (Fisa courts, Prism) --The war on drugs (Poisoning alcohol during prohibition) --Patriot act, espionage act
Mind Control --OP. Mocking Bird --COINTELPRO --MK Ultra (project midnight climax) --Operation Earnest Voice
False Flags --RMS Lusitania --Gulf of Tonkin --OP. Northwoods --9/11 (OPEC and missing pentagon money) --Gulf of Oman
Human Testing --OP. DEW, 112, SHAD, Green Run --Project sunshine, Gabriel --Injecting people with plutonium (Manhattan project) and testing mustard gas on soldiers --Tuskegee experiment --Stateville Pen. Malaria study --Operation big itch, big buzz, dropkick, mayday --Holmesburg program --Project Bluebird --Marshall islands --OP Top Hat
They don't want you to know about May 1st, international labor day, and why we celebrate labor day as far away from it as possible. They won't teach you about the battle of Blair Mountain where a company was allowed to utilize thousands of police and mercenaries to kill miners striking for better working conditions.
They don't want you using your mind, because then you might look for an answer they don't want you to find.

>**What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.**
Play games like valorant, OW, Hogwarts Legacy etc. I want a smooth experience. may even do some GIS/Mapping work from, but it's definitely not the main focus.
>**What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?**
2000$ is the cut off.
>**When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.**
Ideally I want the parts as cheap as possible but within the next few weeks.
>**What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc\)**
I have monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc. Just need the PC.
Parts I think I need/want (Suggestions are wanted if you have any):
GPU (NIVIDIA)
CPU (Does not bottleneck my GPU) (AMD)
CPU fan
Motherboard (compatiable)
SDD (At least 1 TB)
32 GB RAM (Good frequency)
Power supply (can power computer)
WINDOWS 11
CASE (has flow)
FANS (in flow and out flow)
>**Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?**
USA, WI.
>**If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.**
None for PC. I have an external SSD card but that should not affect the build.
>**Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?**
No.
>**Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)**
Look above at part list for specific requirments. I also would ideally like the backbone of the PC to be Ryzen 7 5800x and the GTX 3070, (this is what my friend told me to do a while back, not sure if these are still good options, if there's better parts I should do let me know. But idealy GTX graphics card)
>**Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?**
No, performance overall.
>**Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?**
Yur windows 11.
>**Extra info or particulars:**
Thanks ;)

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

I will be mainly using the pc as a gaming/VR gaming pc. I will be playing some AAA games like Jedi Survivor. I will also be playing COD, Fortnite, and Minecraft. For vr, I’ll be playing Beat Saber, Contractors, No Mans Sky, and Phasmophobia. For programs, I’ll most likely be using OBS for recording video, Premiere Pro for editing said video, and Medal for clipping.

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

Maximum budget will be about $2200.

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

I plan to buy the parts sometime this month.

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

I need a monitor included in the budget. I have been looking at the Gigabyte M27Q, but if you know any bettecheaper monitors, then include those.

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

I will be purchasing the parts from the US in SC, and I don’t have a micro center nearby.

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

None.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

Maybe sometime down the line, but not currently interested atm.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

I’d prefer 2TB of storage.

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

I’ve been eyeing the Montech Sky Two and the MagniumGear Neo Qube 2 Infinity Mirror. So either those cases or similar cases like those are ones that I’d prefer. For the components, I’d want them all to have a consistent theme. (Like Black/Gray + RGB)

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

No, I already have a computer with an activated copy of Windows 11 that I can just transfer over.

Extra info or particulars:

None, but ask me for more info if needed.

We only dated for a few months but we definitely clicked and got each other in a way that I haven't experienced before. My roommate didn't like him though and she pointed out some red flags to me. I valued her opinion and experience so I listen and started to distance myself. We kept in touch though.
Soon after he told me he lost his job which I knew he really enjoyed. He got a new one but didn't really seem to like it as much. He admitted how much he missed me and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss him. Then one day he just vanished. Tried reaching out through various methods to no avail until today when I came across his obituary online.
I don't know how or what to feel. I'm so heartbroken and needed to get it out somewhere.

Hi guys today the sun was setting to my right and I just sat in my garden looking at something else. When I would kind of stare in the direction of the sun it felt like there was suddenly a red filter on my eyes. It’s exactly the same color as when you close your eyes and look at the sun. But this time my eyes were wide open. In the morning this isn’t really a problem but for some reason when the sun is setting and is already a bit orange it’s like crazy obvious I almost can’t see other things in the direction the sun is setting. Does anyone know what this is and if it’s connected to vss?

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• I will primarily be playing games like Civ VI, Humankind, Stellaris, StarCraft II, etc. I want to be able to play 4X games on max settings with potentially huge, moded maps for Civ for example. I also love RTS games despite the genre not being as strong any more, and playing FPS games like Isonzo and CoD are guilty pleasures. I've never had a gaming PC but have wanted one my whole life and this is the first time I can afford one.

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

• $1800 is the maximum budget although I suspect that may be overkill

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• Potentially as early as tomorrow at Microcenter

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• Tower, OS, maybe monitor

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• Southern California, yes

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• I have a keyboard and mouse, although not for gaming specifically.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• No

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

• Nothing in particular

What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.

• I can do WiFi or ethernet

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• None in particular

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• Yes I think so, probably Windows 10

Extra info or particulars:

I'm not really looking for opinions on my progress (although I'm expecting to hear them lol!), but mainly for others who are just starting out or thinking about starting out on an EUC, I wanted to share a personal milestone and some things I've learned along the way.
After about a month of riding almost daily (a few off days here and there mainly due to schedule and weather), I finally got out on a regional bike path today and used up the whole battery on my V8 and hit the tiltback speed, around 21 mph I think, for the first time.
Could I have hit that speed sooner? Absolutely, but I have been what I think most people would consider "super cautious". I have two young kids, and I'm just not at a point in life to be a big risk taker right now (besides riding an EUC in the first place!).
My main takeaways after one month of riding are:

• You will get it faster than you think. You'll start off thinking there's just no way the EUC is going to do what you see other people doing on it. It'll just feel so foreign and weird when you start, your expectations from watching YouTube videos will not line up with what you're experiencing in real life. There will be cognitive dissonance. You'll know, logically, that it's possible, and may even have faith that you'll get there, but part of your body and mind will just think, it can't be done. It can, and it will, all it takes is practice. If I can learn it - trust me - anyone can. My only prior experience with this kind of activity is as a bicyclist and motorcyclist, and while helpful, there isn't a whole lot that translates other than the overall sense of horizontal balance and being comfortable having your body exposed at high speeds. I think if you were a skateboarder or a snowboarder, you might pick it up a little easier, but it's going to be a weird feeling no matter who you are when you first step on an EUC. Just hang in there.
• If you can, learn from someone else who already knows how to ride. If you can't (like me), watch every YouTube video. There are two main schools of thought about learning:
  • One approach is to start with assisted mounting (a wall or railing) until you know how to ride at speed (i.e. 5+ mph), even if that is a week or more. This is what Monocat (Wrong Way's girlfriend) did, and she rode something like 100km before ever learning to free mount, which seemed crazy to me when I first heard it. This approach is much more feasible if you're learning with someone else who has their own EUC, because they can help you mount anywhere.
  • The other - which is what I did - is to get off the wall/rail ASAP and learn to free mount in an open space (and, by necessity, to learn to maneuver at low speed) before you learn to go faster. This is the approach you will see in a lot of the "learn to ride an EUC" videos you're likely to find on YouTube.
  • Both approaches are viable, but ultimately if I had it to do over again I would probably go with option 1 because of a few main reasons:
    • It took me longer to gain the confidence to go faster, which slowed my overall learning curve.
    • Learning to free mount before you feel comfortable on the wheel is extremely tiring, because you're stepping on and off so often, and maneuvering at low speed for a long time is also tiring. Learning these skills "up front" probably takes longer than waiting until you are forced to - i.e. when you encounter a group of pedestrians, or you have to mount somewhere without assistance. But, it's probably less stressful and embarrassing to learn these skills in your driveway than on a crowded sidewalk.
    • If you lack patience, this approach is much more likely to cause you to give up altogether.
    • From what I've heard, learning to free mount is easier after you've kind of worked your way "down" in speed rather than working "up" - as a result you spend less energy learning to ride overall.
  • There were some pros to learning to free mount first however:
    • Knowing how to free-mount dramatically expands the areas you can go on your own, because you don't need to walk your EUC to a railing or a wall every time you step off. (If you're learning with a friend, like Monocat was, this is much less of an issue.) I was able to keep my EUC in my trunk and just pull over and practice on any good looking parking lot or big grass field that I saw, which was nice.
    • I gained the confidence to get on the wheel and maneuver at low speeds first, which helped me build the fine motor control needed to safely control the wheel at both low and high speeds, before ever going fast.
    • Ultimately I think this approach may be a bit safer than the first approach for that very reason - going 10-20 mph on an EUC without knowing how to free mount or maneuver at <5mph, do tight turns, figure eights, etc., is inherently more dangerous and could result in a crash, at worst, or possibly ingrain poor riding habits (such as poor foot placement, riding without carving and shifting your weight, etc.), because you don't have full confidence in your ability to control the wheel.
• Get a good starter wheel. This could be different things to different people, but I personally found a $400 used V8, and like I said, I only just today (one month later) reached the limits of its potential. I expect it to be sufficient for me to help me build my skills and take me as far and as fast as I need to go for at least a few weeks more, and it'll be a great wheel to keep in my car or at work, and also to teach other people on. I do want to get a bigger, faster, longer-range wheel soon, but I am glad that I learned to ride on a smaller and lighter wheel. I have not yet ridden the 16X, but from everything I've seen, it appears to be the sweet spot in terms of a wheel that's small enough to learn to ride on and be nimble at low speed (and thus less tiring when you are developing the necessary muscle groups and muscle memory), but also has a lot more headroom in terms of speed and range. There are probably other wheels in this same category, like the V8F or the V10F (and some of the other King-Song 14-16 inch wheels), but I would recommend getting a used wheel first if you can because you're going to drop it and beat the shit out of it A LOT when you're starting out. A 16X with a case on it would probably stand up to the abuse of learning just fine, but you have to be willing to grind your new toy on the pavement. Starting with a big, heavy, top of the line wheel just seems like a bad idea to me, but I know that some people do it. I wouldn't learn to ride a motorcycle on an R1, and I wouldn't try to learn how to drive a stick shift in a Ferrari.
• The riding surface matters - a lot. Practice on grass or turf early on if you can. Not only will you be able to go faster with less risk if (and when) you fall off, but riding on a slightly irregular surface helps you build fine motor control much more quickly which translates into better riding skills both on and off-road. Also, riding around a big grass field with a few bumps is just a lot of fun, and it's a totally different experience than riding on pavement. As a new rider, this experience is great. It engages your upper body a lot more and is generally a nice departure from cruising on the road. It also helps you realize that the EUC is capable of handling a lot crazier terrain than you will initially expect, which helps you build confidence and trust in the wheel. Once you've graduated to being able to reliably keep your wheel where you want it to be on a trail/sidewalk/road - which for me was after about two weeks - find the best quality surface you can. You'll be shocked how much of a difference it makes. Poor road surfaces diminish your confidence and limit your growth potential when you're first learning. You might think your local street or bike path is good enough, but if it has a rough surface with lots of bumps, gravel, and potholes, the first time you get on a proper bike path or a freshly paved parking lot, you'll suddenly be able to go much faster with more confidence. Then you'll get back on those shittier surfaces and think, oh, this isn't so bad - mainly because you'll feel comfortable going faster. Don't avoid poor surfaces entirely, because you need to learn how to handle them eventually and you don't want to handicap yourself - just find a good place where you don't have to worry about that and put it in your rotation of places to practice early on.
• Learning is both physical and mental. There are, and are not, shortcuts. I've heard it said that the speed at which you learn EUC is directly proportional to your willingness to overcome fear. There is some truth to that. If I were completely fearless, I probably could've hopped on the wheel with some help from a wall and dashed 20 yards at full-lean until I wiped out into the grass. I'd have hurt myself and my pride a little bit, but I'd have found the limit and might have been able to shorten the overall learning curve by a couple of weeks. Some people learn this way, and more power to them. Becoming a truly competent rider, however, is something that simply requires experience, no matter who you are. This experience has both physical and mental components. Riding an EUC takes strength in muscles that you don't often use, especially your feet. Building this strength and the fine motor control to be a safe and competent rider at any speed takes time, and there is no shortcut to developing it. Mentally, learning how the wheel responds to input in all directions, learning which movements of your upper body will and will-not impact the movement of the wheel, learning how and when to bend your knees to absorb impact, learning how much distance you need to stop, learning which riding surfaces will make your wheel lose traction, learning how to take a sharp turn onto a curb ramp, learning how to ride on and off a curb confidently - and so much more - all of these things are skills that can only be developed with time and practice. There is NO SHORTCUT to becoming a truly competent EUC pilot. To truly master it, like any other skill, will probably take you 10,000 hours! If true mastery of EUC is even possible. I don't care if you're already an expert snowboarder or skateboarder, although I have no doubt that those skills would shorten your initial learning curve, as well as give you more "willingness to overcome fear" (or just less fear to begin with).
• Dress for the slide, not the ride. There are countless threads of new riders asking about gear on this subreddit. I'll share my loadout, and my opinions. Take them as you will.
  • Triple Eight Hired Hands Gloves
    • Wrist guards are considered essential equipment for riding EUC, since pretty much any fall is going to impact your wrists, even at low speeds. I tried these wrist guards first, but they did not fit me well (too small on the wrist, even at XL), and didn't like how they left my whole hand exposed. The Triple Eight Hired Hands Gloves are much more robust, with hard armor on the front and the back, and only slightly more difficult to take off (and actually easier to put on). Some people recommend full finger gloves, like the Hillbilly Wrist Guard Gloves - Full Finger, and I'm sure these are great, although I like being able to easily use my phone and also prefer having the brace on both sides of my wrist.
  • Triple Eight Bumsaver Men's Padded Shorts
    • Most people probably don't wear padded shorts when riding, and I don't always either - it's actually the one piece of gear that for whatever reason (probably inconvenience) that I consider "optional". That said, the one place that I have fallen and significantly hurt myself thus far is on my tailbone, and I was wearing (a different set, Bohn body armor) padded underwear at the time. I was still in pain on my tailbone for probably two weeks. Also, most people say that when you fall at speed you almost always take some impact or at least road rash on your hip. Therefore hip padding and tailbone padding is highly recommended, especially if you're going to be traveling at speed, but I can attest to it being useful even when you're going very slow (you can always fall backwards).
  • Triple Eight EP 55 Elbow Pads
    • I usually don't wear these because my motorcycle jacket (see below) has integrated elbow pads. But when I'm not wearing my jacket, I wear these.
  • Giro Switchblade MIPS Adult Mountain Cycling Helmet
    • A full face helmet is essential equipment for EUC - that's my opinion, take it or leave it. This is what I wear for head protection most of the time, since my current wheel doesn't go any faster than 20 mph, and I ride primarily on bike trails and sidewalks and within my neighborhood. When I get a faster wheel and ride on bike lanes or larger roads, I will use my Scorpion helmet (see below). I love this helmet because it is super comfortable and lightweight, and it's also modular so you can easily take off the chin bar to drink some water or blow your nose or whatever without having to take off the helmet. You can also use it as a bicycle helmet if you wanted to, with or without the chin bar. Airflow is great (I am yet to break a sweat in it, which is saying a lot for me), MIPS is a great feature, and the visor has an integrated camera mount. Plus the color options are good.
  • SHIMA SX-2 EVO Motorcycle Shoes for Men
    • I've tried a lot when it comes to shoes for the EUC. I have tried full on hard calf motorcycle boots, which I know some people use, but I don't recommend. They give you basically no feeling for the road or the pedals, and I'm convinced they led to my fall where I bruised my tailbone. I've also tried regular height sneakers, which feel good, but leave your ankles totally exposed, and I've already hit my ankle hard with the pedal when losing control of the wheel on grass. I happened to be wearing high-top sneakers at the time, which were an improvement, but still not enough to prevent ankle impact injury or to stand up to being dragged along pavement. I eventually found these casual style motorcycle shoes which look great and can be worn all day comfortably but also provide hard armoring at the ankle, toe, and heel. They are soft enough on the bottom to feel the pedals - although probably not enough for some people - and they should stand up to any threat of road rash. Any other similar style boots from Dainese or others should work equally well, but I have found these have a wide fit, which is good for my feet (unlike Dainese which is a more narrow fit). Alpinestars makes some good ones too I hear.
  • O'Neal 0256-206 Unisex Pumpgun Knee Guard Carbon Look
    • Knee pads are essential equipment for riding EUC. If you fall, you're going to land on your knees (and your wrists), watch any crash video. I wear these knee pads all the time, they are comfortable and flexible, but they will make your legs a little sweaty (although not obnoxiously so). I have started crossing the top two straps behind my knee at the recommendation of people who say these kind of guards will slide down in the event of a crash. I have ordered some Revit Airwave 3 Pants which can fit over your regular pants and include both knee and hip protection. If I like these, I expect to wear them in lieu of the knee guards and the Bumsaver shorts in most instances.
  • Scorpion EXO-AT950 Ellwood Helmet
    • Some people will say an ADV or street motorcycle helmet is overkill for an EUC. I have been a motorcyclist for many years, and I've tried and own all kinds of top of the line motorcycle helmets (Arai, Shoei, HJC etc.). All of the ones I have that are focused on sport riding I find to be too hot and too narrow field-of-view for riding EUC. I saw She Rides an EUC on YouTube recommend this Scorpion helmet, or one very similar to it. It's an ADV helmet, so it has a removable visor and a front vent in the DH MTB style, except it can be closed. It's also modular, so you can flip up the chin guard super easily. It has other great features like a flip down sun visor, and obviously a full face shield. It is extremely comfortable and has a much wider field of view than my sportbike helmets. When I ride faster and/or ride next to traffic, this will be the helmet I wear, and it is an appropriate level of protection and comfort for my purposes.
  • Dainese VR46 Air-Tex Jacket
    • This jacket is discontinued, but I linked a similar style of jacket from Dainese. Any textile mesh summer motorcycle jacket will do the job. Mine has CE 1 elbow and shoulder protection, and I added a CE 2 back protector (this was my summer motorcycle jacket). I might upgrade to CE 1 elbows and shoulders at some point. I have yet to find it to be too hot in any situation when I'm able to maintain a constant speed above 5 mph. In the absolute heat of summer, I might need to just use my Triple Eight elbow guards and my Boblebee backpack in lieu of the jacket, but I haven't had to do that yet. I also have a Fox Baseframe Pro D30 Chest Guard Jacket which is meant for dirt track riding and intended to be worn under a jersey, but I doubt I will use this often unless I know for sure that I won't be riding on the street at all, because it offers basically no abrasion resistance. Anyone who has crashed and slid on the road (or on gravel) knows that abrasion resistance is as or more important than impact resistance, especially on the kinds of crashes I have seen involving EUC. Only purpose-built gear like a motorcycle jacket or Lazy Rolling Kevlar-reinforced outer layer will provide this. From what I can tell, even the Lazy Rolling Performance Hoodie is hotter than a mesh motorcycle jacket, so unless you really prefer the casual style of the Lazy Rolling, I would recommend a summer mesh moto jacket.
  • Boblbee GTX 25L Hardshell Backpack (Hi-Viz Yellow)
    • First, all my gear is black/hi-viz yellow, so I had no choice but to get this. Some will say back protection is not essential gear for EUC, and as long as they never crash and impact their spine, they're right. As long as I prefer not being paraplegic to some slight inconvenience, I will wear a back protector when riding at speed. If I'm not wearing my jacket with a back protector, and/or when I want to carry gear (even if it's just water and a camera, or whatever), I'll wear the Boblbee. Yes, it makes you stick out like a sore thumb when you're riding, but A) that's the point of the hi-viz yellow version, and B) you already stick out like a sore thumb when you're riding an EUC. Might as well take it to the next level. And it is the best back protector in the world, so it's kind of a no-brainer for me when it comes to EUC equipment.
• Trust the wheel (to an extent). This is probably the biggest takeaway overall. Most of your hesitation when learning will come from just not believing, or understanding, that the wheel is capable of seemingly magical things. As long as it's working as intended, and you are standing on it properly, grabbing it firmly but not aggressively with your legs, and not flailing yourself around, it will just roll on straight across things that will initially surprise you, at speeds that you will initially think are totally insane for something so small and squirrely. You'll be able to turn in an incredibly tight circle at such a low speed that you'll think to yourself, "How the HELL am I not falling over right now?" You'll be able to glide over scary gaps in the pavement and absorb them with your knees to the point that you barely notice them, even at 20 mph. You'll be able to make long gliding turns and wave your arms around like you're a bird flying through the air and little kids will laugh at you. All of these things will seem incomprehensible when you first step up on the wheel, and maybe even for a few weeks after. Some of these magical feats are thanks to the EUC technology - being able to lean or sit down at comical angles while keeping your feet balanced, for instance, thanks to the gyroscope - but mostly it's just due to the basic physics of a wheel in motion. Simply put, it's more stable than you think it is, and you have to learn to trust both the wheel itself as well as the technology that supports it. That said, and paradoxically, EUCs and unicycles generally are also inherently unstable. The main thing that will throw the EUC out of balance is not itself, nor something in the road, but YOU. Your unintended or unplanned movements of your body are the most likely culprit of something that throws you off the wheel, in whatever axis it may be. You have to learn to relax your body overall and move only in ways that don't upset the balance of the wheel, and this is something that takes time and practice. The technology of EUCs is also, ironically, both stable and fragile at the same time. As PEVs go, they are very simple, with relatively few failure points and a low-maintenance design that means they can function for a long time in adverse conditions with relatively little trouble. However, unlike 2+ wheeled vehicles, you are COMPLETELY at the mercy of the hardware and software to keep you from crashing. This is just a fact. On a bike, scooter, or car of any kind, if everything failed at once, you'd still have the opportunity to just roll to a stop. On an EUC, if ONE THING FAILS, you are immediately and without any warning put directly onto your face.
• You don't have any mechanical means of stopping. This is something that's very important to understand, especially if you are used to riding basically any other vehicle. You're completely dependent on the motor and battery to decelerate, along with your own physical and mental skill at applying rearward pressure on the pedals, which is harder to learn than leaning forward. Even when applying full braking pressure, your stopping distance is MUCH GREATER than on any mechanically braked device. This is something that you need to be constantly aware of when you are choosing how fast to go and what situations to put yourself in. No matter how good of a rider you are, if someone cuts you off, you're much more likely to run into them on an EUC than on any other vehicle at the same speed. Your risk of this is exponentially greater when you are first learning, so just don't put yourself into those situations until you have absolute confidence in your ability to apply maximum braking power, and even then - be conservative about where and how you ride. This is a fundamental limitation of the device, and something that - like it or not - you have to accept and understand.

So, if you've made it this far, you're probably a real geek and super into the prospect or reality of learning how to ride an EUC. Do it! You're never too old or too scared to suck at something new! :-p And you will suck at it at first, most likely. But you won't suck forever, and in fact, if you are diligent about it (which again, if you've read all of this, you probably are), you will get better at it than you expect sooner than you thought.
And then you'll be able to literally glide through time and space on the most whimsical and remarkable vehicle that mankind has ever come up with. You'll make a spectacle of yourself wherever you go, so lean into it - literally. Imagine yourself leaving a trail of rainbow dust behind you that lifts the spirits of everyone you see.
In many ways, learning to ride an EUC is a metaphor for life. You start off completely overwhelmed and thinking that you don't have control over anything. Eventually, gradually, and with a fair share of mistakes and sudden breakthroughs, you learn that you're actually a superhero and you can do anything. But you also never stop learning and improving and finding more ways to have fun.
Welcome to the ride of your life!

My friend and I (34M) had been planning on a pool day, and today wound up happening to be that day. It's worth noting that both my friend (~30s F) and her daughter (5F) have Type 1 Diabetes. They manage their condition with a device called a PDA, (Personal Diabetic Assistant) and some patches that get applied to their skin that are evidently waterproof. This device happens to look exactly like a phone, but doesn't do much other than monitor blood sugar levels and alert the user if they need something more than the insulin in the patch. This takes the form of either something that looks like a candy, or a juice box.
Other thing to notice is, my friend works in the adult entertainment industry and is both very, very comfortable in her own skin and has been fresh out of fluffs to give since she was about 18 years old. Not to say she acts or dresses immodestly (especially around her daughter), just that she appreciates being appreciated and looks amazing in a bathing suit. As for the fresh out of fluffs? Well, you'll see.
My gym, for obvious reasons, has a rule about no recording devices of any kind being used in the locker rooms or pool areas. That's not to say there's a no cell phone rule, because there isn't. It'd be both unenforceable and impractical. You can have your phone, but you'll be escorted off the premises if you're caught taking pictures of people or recording video. There's also a rule about no outside food being brought in, as they've got a restaurant/cafe inside and frown upon people bringing their own lunches in. Happily enough, there's an exception for diabetics and other such medical conditions, because that's kind of federal law that such things must be allowed.
So, my friend and I arrive, and we post up on a pair of deck chairs. One of us keeps an eye on the tot, and today it's mostly me since she enjoys the sensation of being cooked by the sun slowly and I have trouble sitting still. After a little while, my friend flags us down, as the little one needs a juice box.
Me, being a mature and responsible adult, naturally stole said juice box and tried to do a runner. The little girl squeals and says something like, "HEY! That's MY juice box! You give it back!" and me doing my best greased up deaf guy voice from Family Guy reply, "You're never gonna catch me!" and there's a little bit of a spectacle as she chases me down.
Finally I let her catch me and return the juice box, and we both walk back over to where my friend has been keeping an eye on us. She moves her enormous sunglasses down to the tip of her nose and gives me an eye roll, and asks, "Did I bring one child in here? Or two?"
I plead the fifth, and have a sit and chat while the little one slurps down her juice box. My friend then whips out her daughter's PDA, which has a hot pink case on it with a label on it that says, "Little B." This is to differentiate it from my friends, which also has a hot pink case on it that says "Bad Bitch" on it. (It used to say Little Bitch, but that was frowned upon when she had to give it to the teacher for Kindergarten, so Little B. it was.)
We chill until the device has been appeased, and then I take the little one off for some more trips down the water slide while my friend flips over and undoes the back of her bathing suit so she's cooked evenly. Before we can make it very far, a middle aged woman complete with the Karen haircut comes over and starts to squawk, "You need to cover up! There are children here!"
My friend rolls over and keeps her bathing suit in place with an arm, and points at me with her free hand "I know. There's two right there. Don't let the size fool you, the big one's the less mature of the pair. What's your problem exactly?"
Karen puffs up a bit, "My son won't stop staring at you! You're... you're tempting him!"
Without missing a beat, my friend replies "Oh, really? Why don't you try telling someone who gives a fuck. You're in my light, this is a pool, I'm wearing a bathing suit. Have a fantastic day." and then rolls back over onto her front.
The Karen makes a gobbling sound, apparently at a loss for words, and stomps off with her fists clenched, presumably in search of a manager.
Me and the little one go off for the water slides, which I was secretly looking forward to. A man in his 30s going down a water slide by himself? Rather odd. Going down a slide with a four year old in front? Totally normal.
After about an hour of impersonating a fish, I look for my friend and see her standing up, looking around with a very concerned expression on her face. I pop the little one onto my shoulders and we go check in.
Apparently at some point my friend had managed to doze off despite the noise, and the big bag of stuff she brought in was missing, and she kind of needs it right now, her sugars feel off and she's dizzy.
I leave the little one with her mom and think for a moment, then I have a thought, and figure going over to the check in desk might be step one. An attendant looks up at me with a smile and asks how he can help. I explain the situation, that there's a big bag missing. Pretty standard beach fare bag, so he asks if I can identify anything inside.
"There should be two hot pink things that look like phones inside. One says Bad Bitch on it." The attendant covers his guffaw just barely, and then brings up my friend's bag. He explains that a woman brought the bag over, claiming the person whose bag it was kept on using the devices inside to take pictures of her and her offspring. The guy knows that we probably didn't do anything wrong, but he had no idea to whom the bag belonged and also didn't want to get into it with that woman. I couldn't blame him.
I take the bag back to my friend, and she starts digging through it. And then the digging becomes rifling, as things are rapidly ejected haphazardly from the bag. And then she looks up at me, "That BITCH." She says in a rather alarmingly cold tone.
I said something clever, sounded a lot like, "Huh?"
"ALL of the juice boxes and candy are gone and my sugars are hitting the floor. I'm going to kill her."
Today I Learned that irritability is an understatement as far as a low blood sugar symptom goes.
My friend stands up, scans the area, and sees something. She stalks over, and happens upon a rather smug and familiar looking woman laid up on a lounge chair, with a rather timid looking boy of about 12 in the next chair over. The Karen opens her mouth to say something, and manages to let out another squawking sound as my friend without any preamble or warning, grabs the woman's bag and dumps the whole thing on the ground.
The woman inelegantly falls off of her chair, frantically scrambling to collect all of her stuff while my friend bends over and picks up some candy wrappers and a single empty juice box. And then my friend says something in a tone that sends shivers down my spine when I think about it. "You stole my baby's medicine? And then ate it?"
There's always something alarming about something said in a tone that SOUNDS calm, but is not at all calm. Sensing imminent violence, I placed myself between myself and my friend and started shouting for help. A couple lifeguards ran over, one speaking into a walkie talkie urgently.
While all this is going on the Karen is frantically cramming her things back into her bag, oblivious to her surroundings. Finally she finishes, realizes what's going on, and immediately stands up and starts shooting her mouth off about indecency and rule breaking and if my friend didn't bring enough to share she shouldn't have brought any at all.
At this point, my friend shakes me off and thrusts the candy wrapper in her face. "Do you understand what this is FOR?! My child is DIABETIC. *I* am diabetic. Do you go around and steal shit from every girl here whose skinnier and prettier than you? Or just the ones who don't put up with your bullshit?"
At this point several other staff members have arrived and separated the parties. My friend is taken promptly over to the cafe for the first and to my knowledge only instance of free food being given out by the place. Once her sugars had leveled out she had to tell her side of the story to those who needed to know. I don't really know what happened to the Karen. I did ask, but the staff member I asked said they couldn't say.
We had to leave after that, as it's fairly important for diabetics to have sugar on hand, and neither of us really felt like paying 3.50$ for a glass of orange juice. Plus the mood was kind of ruined.
People these days. Ugh.

I was battling myself to inner silence during the day unsuccessfully for months now. But today something changed, after somehow finally making my mind not stuck on things I was able to see the world in a very different colors and dimensions. At some point I even started getting a feeling like I was on peek height of Rollercoaster as the massive view of city was consuming me entirely.
Lucky it didn't end there. Iam buying new car and there is some delays with paperwork and after getting news same day that it might be 1 month delay I started indulging very hard. I was indulging hard trying to fight it and become free, but my mind was slowly winning over. Eventually it took me to a very bad place on the blue line where I started feeling like iam suffering and just wasting energy by seconds. My darkroom hour came in so I went straight to it.
It was insane battle against my self pity and mind trying to tell me not to do practice today and delay till tomorrow. I fought it so hard and started doing left breathes from right to left shoulder and there it was. The release. It released me so hard that I started seeing puffs immediately without even doing tensegrity. After I added tensegrety and almost got a little quick shock of possibly seeing some face coming at me, but it was too fast to understand what actually happened.
After darkroom I started realizing what stalking truly is and how it works. Even though I only got emotional reaction of that understanding, I know what something deep inside set off action and soon I will truly know how to stalk myself out of blue line on daily basis without darkroom.
Amazing how it feels to shift your ap even tiny bit. It's entirely different world and different you.